1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image processing apparatus provided with a shadow removal unit which may remove, from image data of a double-page spread original having a binding part, an influence of shadow generated through the binding part, and a control program for the image processing apparatus. In particular, the invention relates to an image processing apparatus which may appropriately remove, in a case where a two-dimensional code exists in a double-page spread original set as a copy target, an influence of shadow in the image data, and a control program for the image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image processing apparatus has been used for copying a double-page spread original having a binding part (for example, a book, a notebook, or the like). In general, in a case where the double-page spread original is read by a scanner or the like, in the read image data, data on a black strip-shaped image based on shadow (hereinafter, referred to as shadow data) is included in a region corresponding to the binding part. The binding part hardly touches contact glass of the image processing apparatus during scanning due to its structure, and thus shadow data is typically generated in the image data of the double-page spread original.
Therefore, when a general image processing apparatus outputs the image data, the black strip-shaped image data is also output in the region corresponding to the binding part, and various problems occur such as decrease in readability of the output result and degradation in visual quality.
To solve this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-044251 describes an image processing apparatus provided with a center deletion mode. To be more specific, according to the image processing apparatus according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-044251, in a case where the center deletion mode is set, a process of removing the black strip-shaped image data at a center part of the double-page spread original having the binding part (a book original in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-044251) (which is equivalent to the shadow) is executed. With this configuration, a user can obtain an output result based on the double-page spread original in which the shadow data in the region corresponding to the binding part is removed.
In recent years, a two-dimensional code which is created on the basis of predetermined information is sometimes placed on the double-page spread original such as a magazine or a catalog. By reading this two-dimensional code through a predetermined code reading apparatus, the two-dimensional code may provide more information than an occupying space for the two-dimensional code could provide, and thus the two-dimensional code functions as useful information providing means.
Then, in the double-page spread original, there are also such cases that the two-dimensional code is placed in the vicinity of the binding part. In this case, when the image forming apparatus according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-044251 makes a copy of the double-page spread original on which the two-dimensional code is placed in the vicinity of the binding part while the shadow data in the vicinity of the binding part is removed, along with the removal of the shadow data in the vicinity of the binding part, a part of an image constituting the two-dimensional code may also be removed in some cases. Then, if the damage of the two-dimensional code along with the removal of the shadow data reaches or exceeds a predetermined proportion, the code reading apparatus cannot read the damaged two-dimensional code.
That is, the image forming apparatus according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 08-044251 has a problem that it is not possible to obtain the information based on the two-dimensional code in the output result after the removal of the shadow data.